Mike Relm is a master of his craft, there is absolutely no doubt about that at all. The turntable king, who likes to be seen as an all round technician, rather than just a turntablist, has wowed many fans over the years with his original mixing, scratching and visual work at his live shows. And with the release of this DVD, you can see exactly what it is that makes Relm so popular.
Filmed during his support slot on Gift Of Gab’s tour for 4th Dimensional Rocketships Going Up tour in 2004, this DVD basically gives you what you want to see. It takes clips from 3 or 4 different shows on the tour, showcasing his scratching skills, his ability to get the crowd singing a John Lennon song, his beat juggling and all sorts of other amazing techniques. You even get some Gift Of Gab footage and a clip of Relm teaching you how to do up a tie.
In amongst the live footage are short interviews with the man himself, explaining why he loves what he does, how he got into the art and why he plays a track from Snoopy for the crowd. He comes across as the most down to earth guy around, happy to be able to do what he does and happy that people dig his work.
The bonus material is more showcasing of his amazing talents as he travelled the world with Money Mark and D-Sharp, going from Japan to Australia and stopping off in Europe on the way.
If you like turntablism and you want to see one of the best live DJs around, then Suit Yourself is definitely a DVD for you. It’s action packed, it has great music and above all, its fun.
All the info can be found at: www.mikerelm.com
It seems unfair that over the course of their fifteen-plus year existence, the Bouncing Souls haven’t reaped the rewards afforded to so many inferior bands of their genre. To label the ‘Souls a pop-punk band would only tell half the story, as their intelligent (but often humorous) lyrics and streetwise, hardcore edge have always helped them stand out from their so-called peers.
Every year, the cream of the US underground hip hop scene make a pilgrimage to the holiest of holy places – Cincinnati, Ohio. Scribble Magazine puts on Scribble Jam every year there, a coming together of the 5 elements, with graf expos, MC, DJ, Beatbox and Breaking battles, plus the biggest names in the underground appearing live on stage. Previous Scribble Jam DVDs have been excellent, showing the best of the battles, 15 minute features showcasing the best of the graffiti and also footage of the live sets of artists such as Atmosphere, MF Doom, Eyedea & Abilities, RJD2, Blueprint, Brother Ali and many more.
That’s right kiddies, it’s that time of the year again. A time when a fat fucker in a red suit comes down your chimney, steals all your presents and drinks your milk before pissing off through the front door. What’s that you say? That’s not how it goes? Then just who the hell was the guy I stumbled upon last year?!
Label mates and fellow modern day titans Killswitch Engage also throw their rather camp hats into the ring with their debut release ‘Set This World Ablaze‘. Undoubtedly the single biggest success story of the “New Wave” thrash movement thus far, it contains not only a blistering set featuring all of the band’s classic cuts, but also an in depth look back over their career thus far – covering everything from the early days spent toiling in the Massachusetts underground, right up until their stint as second stage headliners on this year’s Ozzfest.
Those of you who are familiar with us here at Crossfire know by now that there’s a little saying around these parts, and that’s that nobody does it quite like the oldies where good old fashioned rocking goes. As if our word wasn’t enough, there’s a host of mullet-sporting treasures straight from the 80’s thrash metal scene just waiting to be lapped up. While Brazilian revolutionaries Sepultura present their double-disc treat ‘Live In Sao Paulo‘, the legendary Testament make a more than welcome return with the punishing experience that is ‘Live In London‘. If you were fortunate enough to catch Skolnick and co on their brief yet memorably reunion tour all those months ago, then you’ll know how electric North London was that evening. If not, then you do indeed suck a huge amount of ass; but buy this stripped down yet satisfying slab of thrash metal madness and you may just redeem yourself.
Also coming out of the woodwork was underground heroes S.O.D. with their DIY presentation ‘20 Years of Dysfunction‘. Consisting of live performance footage and on the road hysterics shot almost entirely by loyal followers, it’s a shining example of how things should be done – by the fans; FOR the fans.
As the former thoroughly assaults the senses with a barrage of the biggest and best videos from the biggest and best bands the label has to offer (Shadows Fall, God Forbid, and The Haunted to name but a few), the latter offers viewers a chance to feast their eyes upon some of the most devastating and electrifying performances from the US leg of the tour in 2005, featuring select cuts from both established headliners and upcoming opening acts alike.
If we’re all honest, Graham Coxon was always the best thing about of Blur. His warm fuzzy guitar tones and hop-skip-jump bendy guitar lines worked so well, and his nervous high pitched cooing gave a real sense of emotion to Damon’s everyman delivery. But in one swift action that finally gave conclusive evidence that Damon is in fact a nasty piece of work (well, I wasn’t gonna just believe what the Gallagher’s were saying was I?) Graham was asked to leave the band in such a humiliating manner. He quit the drink and alcohol, sorted his mind and family life out, and pushed on with his solo work whilst Blur went on to sell a lot of records (as per usual) but generally bore people into buying Gorillaz records (so it would occupy more of Damon’s time until the inevitable reunion of Coxon and Blur.) and while Blur may sell more records than Graham, the respect he gets from the critics, fans and other bands far exceeds that of his former band. So just to rub it in that little bit more we have one frantically electric show of Graham’s (and his amazing band) captured on DVD for the first time. 
Max Cavalera is undoubtedly one of the most influential and important figures in metal today. Former band Sepultura leapt into the mainstream from the unlikely territories of deepest Brazil with their unrivalled, venomous cocktail of thrash ferocity and snarling punk attitude; while current venture Soulfly have spent the better part of a decade knocking down walls and musical boundaries of their own with a sonic battering ram of tribal influenced mayhem and delicate, flamenco driven serenity. The bands” debut DVD release is a detailed, all access journey with Max and co. captured live throughout the world over the course of the past several years. Featuring over an hour of live performance, previously unseen footage from inside the studio during the “Prophecy” recording sessions, up-close and personal band interviews and the four-piece’s entire video discography – ‘the Song Remains Insane” is an intriguing insight into an even more intriguing group of musicians, and irrefutably packs enough wallop to keep even the most avid followers satisfied for many an evening to come.
If you haven’t heard about once Black Flag/Rollins Band front man Henry Rollins’ spoken word performances, then where the hell have you been? I luckily caught one of his shows at the Barbican a few years ago, a sold out audience sat through what essentially is one man venting his spleen about a myriad of topics for over three hours. My bum may have been telling me in it’s own magical way that it had been THAT long sitting still with a dose of pins and needles, but my mind felt like it had only been 30 minutes. The man’s natural charisma is impossible to resist, he is shouting at you, yet you don’t mind the spit and bile because ultimately what he says will make you laugh, and more so, it”ll make you think! Henry Rollins is an articulate man, but he wont talk down to you, he wont dumb things down either, instead he explains things simply, directly and most importantly, interestingly. He touches on Politics, his own social commentary, music, his eternal mission to find love, his life in California and many more enticing nuggets throughout his set, all with a warmth and humbleness that is refreshing in this era when EVERYONE has an opinion.
In the past several years, good old fashioned metal has seen somewhat of a dramatic resurgence. As the clones and lemmings of the tiresome nu-metal movement slowly but surely came to a grinding halt; a new wave of devastating musical vengeance was simmering away in the underground melting pot, almost at boiling point. Quicker than you could say “I like hot cocks!” that pot finally boiled over, and in turn spilled out into the mainstream with the same snarling aggression possessed by the bands of which its juices contained. From the realms of straight-edge hardcore courtesy of California’s own Throwdown and Bleeding Through, to the tip of the metallic iceberg with genre heavyweights Killswitch Engage, Shadows Fall and Chimaira; “Eye for an Eye” is a fond and enjoyable look at just how alive and kicking the modern day metal scene really is.
Boston’s own Celtic punk veterans Dropkick Murphys are what many would consider legends in their own time. Having spent countless years forging a worldwide reputation as one of the most entertaining live bands around, the Irish-American’s at last bring their non-stop party attitude to your very own front room in the form of “On The Road With Dropkick Murphys“. Boasting a host of special features ranging from extensive on-road activities throughout a summer-long trek on the Warped Tour, an entire 24 song set from the St. Patrick’s Day weekend in their native Boston home, not to mention an entire music video discography; “On The Road With Dropkick Murphys” is a thoroughly entertaining and uncensored peek at one of the leading bands in the modern day punk scene.